


Patience

by AFlockOfBagels



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Anakin Skywalker Needs a Hug, BFFs, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Minor Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker, Pre-Order 66
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-02
Updated: 2020-06-02
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:48:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24513364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AFlockOfBagels/pseuds/AFlockOfBagels
Summary: Why does Anakin Skywalker always have to comm his wife at the worst times? Rex is sick of all the waiting around, but sometimes good things come to those who wait.
Relationships: CT-7567 | Rex & Anakin Skywalker
Comments: 5
Kudos: 105





	Patience

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first fic I've written in, like, 13 years. Hope you like it!

_Not again._

Captain Rex stood in front of the durasteel door to the barracks, nervously shifting from one foot to the other. He glanced back at the door behind him, sighed, and shook his head. Why did Anakin Skywalker always need to comm his wife at the worst times? They were minutes away from setting off on a recon mission—what was so important that it couldn’t wait until after?

Rex was beginning to grow impatient with his General’s secret romance. At first, he thought it was kind of sweet; when Anakin had confessed to Rex his relations with Senator Amidala, he felt honoured that the General would entrust him with such a secret, and teased him about being soft. But now, with the 501st more embroiled in the war than they had ever been, there simply wasn’t time to spare for things like that. A part of him wondered if the Jedi were onto something with their “no attachments” policy. The other part of him felt sorry for the man—he might never truly understand what it was like to have a partner, a lover, or a wife, but he understood the need for proximity, connection, and comfort all the same. After all, he was only human, himself.

But then again, last time, Master Kenobi almost caught onto them, and Rex’s excuses were wearing thin. There were only so many times the General could spot check his gear before the Loth-cat was out of the bag. He cared deeply for his General and the Senator, but Rex wasn’t sure how much more of this he could take. 

He was snapped to attention by the sound of the door sliding open. He whirled around and straightened up, turning his thoughts back to the task at hand.

“Ready for your orders, General.” Rex said.

He was expecting the usual snappy remark in response, but instead was met with quite the opposite—the General was staring down at the helmet in his hands, silent, his mind fixated on something.

_Oh, great._ Rex thought. What happened in there? General Skywalker knew better than most that to go into battle in a bad headspace was suicide; he’d be putting himself, as well as all of his men, at risk. Rex knew that Anakin didn’t like anyone prying, but he couldn’t just stand by and do nothing.

“Something the matter, sir?” He asked, not sure he wanted to hear the answer.

Anakin sighed, still fidgeting with the Captain’s helmet. Rex could see him set his jaw, and mentally prepared himself for whatever was to come.

“Padme’s… Pregnant.” He said.

Rex blinked. Did he hear that right?

“…Sir?” He replied, stunned.

Anakin looked up at Rex, locking eyes with him. A senseless grin started to spread across the his face, and Rex noticed his eyes were glassy.

“I’m going to be a father.”

Rex stood stock-still, dumbfounded at what he was hearing. He needed a second to process this. _Kriff,_ he needed a standard week to process this.

Before Rex could brace himself, the General dropped his helmet, threw open his arms, and wrapped the Captain in them. He lifted Rex off the floor, nearly crushing him in his grasp. Anakin was roaring like a madman.

“I’m going to be a dad!” He cried, swinging Rex around in front of the barracks. Luckily there were no troops around to see them, Rex thought briefly, or neither of them would ever live this down. All the Captain could do was suffer in silence for what felt like an eternity and try to keep the air in his lungs. He grunted as the General dropped him back on his feet and sucked in a harried breath. Anakin must have realized how rough he was, as he put a hand on Rex’s shoulder to steady him.

“Oh… Sorry, Rex. Didn’t mean to, uh…” He said, voice trailing off.

Rex cut in. “Don’t worry about it,” he gasped. He straightened up, not wanting to appear any more flummoxed than he already was. In spite of all the confusion swirling around in his head at the moment, Rex smiled.

“Congratulations, sir.” He said.

Anakin straightened, his eyes twinkling. “Can you believe it? Me! A father,” He said. He laughed softly and ran a hand through his hair. “I’m going to be a father…”

Suddenly, the General’s smile curled into a frown. His eyes widened, his breathing quickened, and he brought his other hand up to rest on his forehead.

“Oh, _force_ , Rex,” he breathed, “what am I going to do?”

_Oh, shab. Here we go_ , Rex thought to himself. Anakin’s eyes were wild—they were darting around the base, searching for a solution in the empty space. Rex sighed; he assumed that the General’s abrupt change in demeanour was due to his sudden recollection that Jedi weren’t supposed to have attachments. Is that really something he just _forgot_ about? Then again, he was probably also worried about breaking the news to the Council. He’d be in big trouble, not just for having a wife, but for having a kid, too. Rex wasn’t sure how severely Jedi were normally punished, but for this, the General would probably be excommunicated, or whatever the Jedi did to those who broke their sacred oaths. Rex could only guess.

It suddenly dawned on him. He’d been hiding General Skywalker’s secret relationship for months— _years_ , actually. If the Jedi found out that he had been hiding the truth all along…

Rex shook his head, deciding he’d worry about that later. For now, he had more pressing matters to attend to.

“Sir,” he said softly, grabbing Anakin by the forearms, “Please, calm down. We’ll figure this out.”

The two men locked eyes once more. Rex noticed that Anakin’s eyes were still glassy, but for a different reason this time. The Jedi let out a shaky breath.

“Rex, the Council is never going to let me get away with this.” He shook his head. “How am I going to break this to everyone? How am I going to break this to _Obi-Wan_?”

As he uttered his old master’s name, his shoulders fell. Rex had never seen the man in so much pain, in so much inner turmoil. Not even Ahsoka’s abrupt departure from the Jedi order had rattled him this much, and at the time, Rex thought the General would never recover. But why was he suddenly so troubled about Master Kenobi’s opinion?

“Sir, if I may speak freely,” Rex said, “Why’re you worried about General Kenobi? As far as I’m concerned, he’d have your back in all this.”

The General’s eyes met the floor. “You know Obi-Wan. He’s always ragging on me about attachment. He’s a stickler for the Jedi code. He’d be so… _disappointed_ in what I’ve done.” He whispered.

Rex cocked his head to one side and grinned. “Are you sure about that?” He said.

“What do you mean?” Anakin asked.

“General, I know a thing or two about brotherly love and what you and General Kenobi have going on is pretty damn close,” Rex paused. “The man practically raised you. He trusts you with his life and follows you into battle without question. Sounds like attachment if I’ve ever seen it. Just try and tell me that he wouldn’t stick up for you in front of the Jedi Council.”

Anakin’s jaw dropped. Rex briefly wondered if he’d gone too far, but decided to stand his ground.

“If General Kenobi is such a stickler for the rules, he would have ratted you out to the council a long time ago, don’t you think?”

Anakin held his Captain’s gaze for a moment. It seemed to Rex as if he was searching for something in his eyes—maybe he wasn’t satisfied with Rex’s response, and needed something more. He didn’t know what else to say, though. It’s not like he had experience dealing with things like this.

Just then, a grin started to twitch at Anakin’s lips. He stood up straight, causing Rex’s hands, still gripped on his forearms, to fall. He crossed his arms and took a deep breath in.

“ _Stang_ , Rex,” said Anakin, “When did you get so wise?” 

The General’s usual bravado seemed to have returned. Rex almost let himself sigh with relief.

“I’m not,” he replied. “Just doing my job.”

Anakin chuckled. “C’mon. The men are waiting for us.”

He walked past Rex with a familiar resoluteness about him. He glanced back at the Captain, signalling him to follow. Rex caught up with him and the pair started towards the gunships on the other side of the base.

Rex was relieved; how he’d managed to keep his General from a total meltdown, he’d never know. What he did know, however, was that there was scouting to do, and he was raring to go.

They were about halfway to the gunships when Anakin piped up again.

“So, if I’m going to be a father,” he said, “then I suppose that makes you an uncle.”

Rex snorted. _What?_

“Sir, if I’m that kid’s uncle, then, by extension, every man in the 501st Legion is also an uncle.”

Anakin chuckled, his eyes sparkling once again.

“Huh… that’s a lot of uncles.”

As they boarded the LAAT/i, Rex pulled his helmet back on. He couldn’t help smiling to himself, thinking fondly of his General’s newfound family. Of _his_ newfound family.

_One disaster avoided_ , Rex thought. _Now onto the next one…_


End file.
